UPDATE: |The killer drug becoming more popular because it’s cheaper than cocaine News

Known as a dissociative anaesthetic, ketamine is used as a party drug for its hallucinogenic effects. However, it can also cause serious health problems such as irreversible damage to the bladder and kidneys.

Ketamine consumption in the UK is estimated to have increased by 85 per cent between April 2023 and April 2024, government data shows.

Samples collected by the Home Office’s Wastewater Analysis programme between January to April 2023 and January to April 2024 show a huge increase in presence of the Class B drug.

Known as a dissociative anaesthetic, ketamine is used as a party drug for its hallucinogenic effects. However, it can also cause serious health problems such as irreversible damage to the bladder and kidneys.

The National Crime Agency (NCA)’s annual National Strategic Assessment, published on Tuesday, said ketamine is becoming ‘more popular’ because of its cheaper cost than cocaine and a lower perceived risk, despite its dangers. It added the number of adults presenting for medical treatment related to ketamine in 2022 -2023 had risen to five times that in 2014-2015.

The risks of the drug were brought into the spotlight after the tragic deaths of Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne earlier this year, and Ancoats Coffee Co founder Jamie Boland in 2024.

James Lee Williams – who performed under the name The Vivienne – died from a cardiac arrest caused by the effects of taking ketamine, according to his family. They are now campaigning to raise awareness of the risks of the drug and to see it reclassified as Class A.

It followed the death of Jamie Boland, who died of sepsis caused by a kidney infection, which was a complication of long-term use of ketamine – which he had believed to be safer than cocaine, according to his parents.

Following the inquest into the 38-year-old’s death in November, Coroner Alison Mutch wrote to the Home Secretary calling for urgent action to reclassify the drug to Class A. In a prevention of future deaths report she wrote: “Maintaining its classification as a Class B drug was likely to encourage others to start to use it or continue to use it under the false impression it is ‘safer’.”

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News earlier this year, Jamie’s parents Maureen and Jim described how they watched their beloved boy become a ‘prisoner in his own body’, in constant agony due to the havoc wreaked on his organs by the drug.

“We saw the damage that it did to Jamie’s body, and how it completely transformed his life from a happy, sociable, successful business owner to a virtual recluse, in constant pain and suffering from a never-ending need to use the toilet,” they said.

Jamie had started to take ketamine in 2021 after previously struggling with an addiction to cocaine. Hs inquest heard he began to take the Class B drug over cocaine – which is designated Class A – because he believed it was safer.

But, by May 2022, his ketamine use was starting to harm his bladder. Ketamine Bladder Syndrome is when chronic use of the drug affects the lining of the bladder and causes the organ to shrink, meaning the need to go to the toilet increases.

Jamie was admitted to the Priory in Altrincham in November 2022 but was in so much pain he could not take part in the group sessions.

Maureen told the M.E.N. that by early 2023, he couldn’t walk very far, or last more than a minute or two, without needing to urinate, and was in ‘constant pain’.

“So, from starting to take ketamine in early 2021, it took three and a half years to cause his death. The critical factor here is the vicious cycle that is created,” she said.

“Normal pain relief solutions are not strong enough to dull the pain, the only thing that could was more ketamine. It is an anaesthetic. So, no matter how much Jamie tried to cut down or stay clean, the pain became too much.”

On June 19, three of Jamie’s colleagues from Ancoats Coffee Co came to visit him, concerned that they hadn’t heard from him for several days. They found him lying on his sofa, where he had sadly passed away.

“Ketamine should be reclassified to Class A, backed by a national, high-profile public awareness campaign. Someone needs to be visiting schools to warn of the dangers,” Jamie’s parents said.

“We feel that very little is known and understood by young people, parents and schools. This is a relatively new area for the medical profession too which is discovering the damage that it can cause and what treatments, if any, can be effective.”

In Greater Manchester, children as young as 13 are known to be using ketamine in Greater Manchester, according to a Manchester Metropolitan University study research published last year. One substance misuse worker based in Trafford and Salford described how there was a ‘bit of an epidemic at a school’ in the area.

The newly released NCA report stated: “Ketamine is becoming more popular and is much cheaper for users than cocaine. Users frequently mistake it as safer than other drugs, however, it causes significant health harms, both mental and physical.

“‘Ketamine bladder’ describes the severe and painful bladder damage ketamine use causes. The drug brings on a dissociative state, putting the user at risk of physical danger, and has other short- and long-term psychological effects.

“The number of adults presenting for medical treatment relating to ketamine during 2022-2023 was 2,211, five times greater than 426 in 2014-2015.”

The report also found the ‘harm from drugs’ in the UK is rising, with a 15 per cent increase in drug-related deaths over the last year. Cannabis was named ‘the most widely used illegal drug in the UK’.